Signs to help people find the correct bathroom

Dining in style

Unusual pairs of plates designed by London-based artist Yvonne Ellen:

Body, canvas, screen?

Dani Oliver creates his effects at the time of the shoots, by projecting complex images and intricate patterns on his models. The results are very impressive!

It's spring!

Serendipity

Serendipity is among the 100 favourite words in the English language, and mine too!

The word was invented by the writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754 as an allusion to Serendip, an old name for Sri Lanka. Walpole was a prolific letter writer, and he explained to one of his main correspondents that he had based the word on the title of a fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, the heroes of which ‘were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of ’.

While looking for photos to illustrate the post, I found out that Walpole lived in Twickenham, our old stomping grounds for over twenty years back in the UK. I had not made the connection between Strawberry Hill House and Walpole until then. That's serendipity!

Here's a map showing Walpole's house, followed by photos of his and our houses (circled, then 1, 2 and 3).

Our first house wasn't painted white, it was natural brick colour:

 

This was a very nice, big house. We planted the magnolia, which is truly spectacular in the spring:

Finally, we moved to this smaller house, then to la belle France! We planted the mock orange, seen here in all its white splendour.

A colourful birthday party for a bird lover

Happy birthday, View. I know you love all creatures, but birds make for a very pretty post! All the best to you and your friends, furry or feathered. Let's start with the inevitable pun, shall we?

Patrick from Politicalgates is also celebrating his birthday and I'm remembering my dad, who would have been 93 today...

Today we're all Irish!

 I think you'll be delighted to hear what this enthusiastic Irish guy has to say:

Epic girls night out

View sent us this joke. Thanks for the laugh, View!

Two women friends had gone for a girls' night out. 
Both were very faithful and loving wives, however 
they had gotten over-enthusiastic with the Bacardi 
Breezers. 

 

Incredibly drunk and walking home they needed to 
pee, so they stopped in the cemetery. 

 

One of them had nothing to wipe with so she thought 
she would take off her panties and use them. 

 

Her friend however was wearing a rather expensive 
pair of panties and did not want to ruin them. 

 

She was lucky enough to squat down next to a grave 
That had a wreath with a ribbon on it, so she 
proceeded to wipe with that. 

 

After the girls did their business, they proceeded to 
go home. 

 

The next day, the husband of one of the women was concerned that his normally sweet and innocent wife was still in bed hung over, 
so he phoned the other husband and said: 

"These girl nights out have got to stop! I'm starting to suspect the worst. My wife came home with no panties!!" 

 

"That's nothing," said the other husband, 
"Mine came back with a card stuck to her ass that 
said..... 

 

'From all of us at the Fire Station. 
We'll never forget you.' "